Maze of Emotions
by Lac Lausanne
Summary: This story is based on 'The Smurfs' movie. Gargamel and Papa Smurf have been captured by a Goblin Wizard on the orders of his king. The two captured wizards must tell each other their deepest secrets or they will never leave the maze...alive
1. Chapter 1

The floor was hard but felt warm to the touch. Papa Smurf slowly opened his eyes and wondered where he was. The last thing he remembered was being in his bedroom getting ready for bed when he felt himself being transported by magic.

He must have lost consciousness as he couldn't remember the journey or his arrival.

The room was very bright. It seemed to be an opaque white box of some kind. It was at least ten meters square and in the corner there was a wide black ladder leading up to a closed trapdoor. His eyes were still adjusting to the glare as he pushed himself up to a sitting position that's when he noticed that he was not alone as there was an awful snoring sound.

In the corner behind him lay GARGAMEL! But he was the same size as Papa and he had his back to the Smurf.

The evil wizard seemed to be sleeping soundly, curled up on his right side with his arms tucked around his neck. Slowly and carefully the leader of the Smurfs got up and went over to the sleeping human. He could see that he was not hurt but how come he was so small and how could he be sleeping at a time like this!

Papa gave Gargamel a not so gentle kick in the backside and jumped back in case he woke up enraged, but the wizard just groaned and turned over and then it was the Human's turn to wake up. At first Gargamel thought he was seeing things. A man sized Smurf was standing next to him.

"Get out of my dreams Papa Smurf! I was having a wonderful dream about...can't remember now. But it was great and now you're giving me a nightmare!" muttered the wizard with half closed eyes. He was not quite awake and thought Papa was in his dream.

"Wake up Gargamel! What do you mean by capturing me and putting me in this box? And more to the point what has happened to you!" shouted Papa.

Gargamel's eyes shot open and he jumped up into a sitting position and pushed himself against the wall breathing hard. "What's what's happening. What have you done to me you nasty little Smurf? I demand that you return me to my correct size this instant! "

"Don't have a go at me you failed wizard! I think you messed up a spell or something whilst capturing me and then trapped yourself at the same time. I wouldn't put it past you!" spat Papa Smurf.

"How dare you speak to me like that you little blue demon, I've got a good mind to strangle you right now for your insolence!" shouted Gargamel going red in the face and he started to stand up. His fists were clenching and unclenching.

"Ha! you wouldn't be able to strangle a chicken, you're all bark and no bite! Come on then if you think you can smurf me. Be warned that I know Smurf-Fu!" Papa got into position and winked at the human.

The enraged wizard ran at full pelt towards the Smurf and Papa did a mock 'Ole' as if the human was a charging bull and at the same time tripped Gargamel up.

The wizard went skidding straight into the opposite wall and banged his big nose.

"Ow, ow! That hurts. I think I've broken it. again!" screamed the wizard, writhing on the floor in agony.

"Well I did warn you. Now lets both think for a moment. I didn't bring us here and you certainly aren't clever enough to capture me by magic so who has done this to us and WHY? said Papa Smurf looking very serious. The human got up from the floor still nursing his nose but after a bit of prodding it seemed fine and not broken, just a bit out of line. Papa looked at the battered wizard and had to suppress a giggle as he now had a big red nose.

"True, if it wasn't you Papa then who would dare capture me the great wizard Gargamel? Once I get my hands on them they'll pay dearly for this!" fumed the angry wizard still holding his nose which made him sound all nasal.

Just then a parchment scroll appeared out of thin air near the ceiling which was at least ten metres high and fell onto the pair below. They both made a grab for it but Papa got it first. There was a bit of a scuffle between them until the Smurf did some more Smurf-Fu and got the Human in an arm-lock.

"Now behave Gargamel and let me read this!" scolded Papa. Sometimes he felt as if he had to be a father to this 'bastard' human who had never known his own father. And this 'Child' was always hard work. Papa called him a child as Gargamel was younger than most of the Smurfs.

Papa let the wizard out of the arm lock and Gargamel decided to play it safe and sat cross-legged on the floor, Papa came over and sat next to him. They unrolled the parchment together and started to read it:

_You have both been captured by the great wizard Gruntag._

_I am the most powerful Goblin wizard and I have been told that Papa Smurf and Gargamel consider themselves to be great wizards as well. But it is known far and wide that you both hate each other and that being locked up together would be your greatest test in learning tolerance and respect for others._

_The Goblin King known as Snotfest the Great has tasked me with devising a prison which also doubles up as maze. You will climb each ladder together into the next chamber. Each chamber will contain a test or trial that you must undergo to prove your bravery and courage. You will both have to work together to ensure your survival!_

_Whilst you were both unconscious we injected you both with a truth serum. If you try to hide your true feelings or try to deceive each other then you will feel very ill and the greater the lie the worse the suffering._

_And now it begins!_

Gargamel and Papa finished reading the scroll together and they just looked at each other open mouthed. Papa was trying to think of something to say but the Human was already on his feet, punching at the ceiling and screaming his head off!

"How dare you treat me like this! You dirty Goblin. It's bad enough being outwitted by Smurfs but Goblins? That's just not right! I refuse to play your game, see! I'm going to sit here on the floor until you give the whole idea up and you send me back home. You can't make me do anything!"

And the angry wizard plonked himself onto the floor with crossed legs and arms and just glowered at the floor.

Papa was just thinking of joining Gargamel in his sit down protest when he noticed a puddle of water on the floor in a corner of the room. As he watched the puddle became bigger and bigger and soon it reached both wizards within a couple of minutes.

Gargamel got up quickly as he hated being wet but his shoes were now soaking and his bunions started to itch.

"Great! now we've got to catch our death of cold as well!" groaned Gargamel.

"Come we'd better move up to the next level. I've got a feeling that the Goblin is going to flood this room," replied Papa and he started to wade through the water which was now waist deep. Together they climbed the ladder side by side and climbed the ten meters to the trapdoor and they pushed against it.

But it would not budge! Together they pushed harder but it was stuck fast and the water was quickly coming up the ladder, they could see the swirling currents and the deepness of the water which was now a dark blue.

"Push harder, quick!" shouted Gargamel, the water was now almost to the ceiling and lapping at their chests. It seemed to have slowed down but it was bone chilling and Papa could feel his grip on the ladder slipping and then he was swept away by the swirling current.

Gargamel tried to reach out to him but could not grab him. He tried the trapdoor again but it was still stuck. He clung to the ladder for dear life and wanted to pretend none of this was happening. Papa was still swirling around in the current but was starting to go under.

This was when Gargamel made his most important decision. He let go of the ladder and swam after the drowning Smurf. He managed to grab Papa and together they swam back to the ladder.

"Thanks for saving me Gargamel!"spluttered the old Smurf. He was so cold that he seemed to have gone several shades darker blue! The human just nodded and together they made one last effort to open the trapdoor and this time it opened easily.

Gargamel hauled himself out first and then he took hold of Papa's wrists and pulled him out of the trapdoor and they closed it tight. They both collapsed on the floor and lay on their backs whilst the water from their clothing made a new puddle around them.

This room was different from the other below. It was bright red but still opaque and there were a couple of chairs in front of a warm fire. There were some dry clothes hanging on a clothes horse.

Both the Smurf and the Human got changed quickly back to back and once in their dry clothes they went to sit by the fire to warm themselves up.

Their teeth were chattering so much that for several minutes they could not talk to each other. Slowly Papa's colour returned to normal and Gargamel's blue lips and hands went back to normal.

"That Goblin wizard means business! I wonder what other torments he has in store for us?" asked Papa Smurf.

"Well I hope it does not involve water again!" answered his companion with a shudder. "Don't know why I'm telling you this Papa, but drowning is my biggest fear, always has been and always will be! But I do know how to swim. For some reason rescuing you made me feel good even though I put myself in danger as well. Oh what am I saying? It must be the truth serum they gave us. It's making me soft!"

"You just did what was right. If you can help others then you just do it," replied Papa and he put a hand on the wizard's shoulder. Gargamel looked at the hand on his shoulder but made no attempt to remove it.

In this prison maze they only had each other. He had no choice but to co-operate for now.

To be continued..


	2. Chapter 2

Maze of Emotions

Chapter 2

They must have sat in front of the fire for at least an hour. Each was lost in thought wondering how to get out of this prison.

What did the Goblin King want with his deepest secrets thought Gargamel to himself. He was secretly pleased that another wizard thought that he had something of value. Most of his peers avoided him and did not want to hear what he had to say even if it did not involve Smurfs.

It made quite a change for Gargamel to be held prisoner. It only ever happened to the Smurfs and even that was becoming mundane and predictable. Catch them then he and Azrael would get distracted or beaten up and the Smurfs escape once again. He kept kicking himself afterwards and vowed to kill them as soon as they were caught next time but somehow he kept forgetting to do this simple thing and the gold spell still kept its grip on his mind. He just had to keep trying to make it work at whatever cost to his health and sanity. If only he could forget about gold then he would be happy and then he would not have to keep capturing Smurfs. He had destroyed the original spell years ago but it was etched on his mind like a bad memory and he could never forget it.

This prison or maze as the Goblin wizard had called it seemed quite sedate and comfortable. He might like to stay here. He felt like a prisoner in the outside world. Cut off from other people and anyone he did meet always looked at him with either fear or loathing, it was a miserable existence. He then started to wonder what the food was like. He was always hungry and now his stomach started to rumble at the mere thought of eating. He gave his belly a rub.

"Sounds like you're hungry Gargamel," said Papa Smurf to his companion. "I'm getting a bit peckish myself, I wonder if they will feed us in this prison or is that part of the torture?" he directed this last sentence to the Goblin wizard on the off chance that he was listening.

Then just as before a scroll of parchment appeared near the ceiling as before and fell on top of Gargamel' who grabbed it and opened it whilst looking at Papa. The Smurf got up from his chair and went over to read it.

_Look behind you and you will see a table filled with food of every kind_

_But some of this food will be tainted_

_But with what I cannot tell_

_It will not kill you or make you very sick_

_But your mind though will play _

_some dirty tricks_

_Eat up my friends _

_This is the only time that_

_You'll be fed!_

Both the human and the Smurf spun around and as promised a large red table stood just in front of them, it's surface groaning with food of every kind. Roast meats, vegetables, pies and cakes, biscuits and fondant fancies and every fruit from around the world. It even had Smurfberry pies. There were also pitchers of water, ales and wines.

"Wait, we'd better not eat or drink anything you read the scroll it must contain a mind altering drug of some sort. Who knows what it could do to us?" said Papa Smurf, but before he could grab Gargamel the latter was already at the table his eyes wide open with greed.

"But look at it! I've never seen so much food ever! I've got to taste it! It's so irresistible!" gasped the human, his hands grabbing at a roast chicken. He pulled off a hunk of breast meat and took a huge bite out of the glistening meat. He savoured the perfectly cooked moist flesh and felt himself relaxing now that he had all the food he ever wanted. No more hunting for him or digging up wilted carrots in his poor little patch of land. He was eating like a King!

Papa just sighed. It was too late to stop the famished wizard. All he could do was prepare himself for whatever was going to happen next. The Smurf kept looking at the Smurfberry pies and his own stomach kept rumbling, the Goblin wizard had said only some of the food was tainted but all he fancied was the Smurfberry pies and they would surely have the drug in them. Instead he kept his mind focused on other things and he moved back to his chair in front of the fire as the smell of all that food was making him nauseous.

Gargamel was like a pig in clover, he had a bit of everything but of course avoided the Smurfberries at all costs. He had also had a bit too much of the wine and after about an hour of gluttony he just lay on the floor complaining that the room was spinning too fast and that he wanted to be sick.

Instead he just fell asleep and started to snore even louder than before. Papa just tutted and feeling a little tired himself, decided to have a nap just to conserve his energy.

Meanwhile the lighting in the room dimmed by itself and if either of them had been awake they would have seen a shadow moving just outside of the opaque walls. The shadow of a giant hand! Then the shadows shifted again and a leering face pressed itself up against the wall of the prison. The Goblin wizard was just starting to have fun!

Papa and Gargamel had a rude awakening a few hours later. The whole room shook as if there was an earthquake and Papa fell off his chair and the human just groaned about his cat making too much noise. Presently the shaking subsided and both occupants of the room were wide awake.

"What on earth is going on? I hate being woken up!" shouted Gargamel. He got up from the floor and stretched out his arms and legs and walked over to Papa whilst holding the small of his back.

Why on earth did I sleep on the floor? he asked the Smurf.

"I think it had something to do with you stuffing yourself fit to bursting and drinking all the ale and wine, that might have not been wise," chided Papa.

"Didn't you want to eat anything at all? You must be thirsty, there's plenty of water or even some Goblin said that he was not going to provide anything else," replied Gargamel.

"I can manage, I don't believe that he will let us die of thirst or hunger but how are you feeling Gargamel? You must have eaten a bit of everything. If there was a drug in that food I would think that you must be feeling its effects by now?"

"Me? I feel fine, but I need to do something and quick!" The failed wizard looked around and went the table and got hold of an empty pitcher. He noticed the Smurf looking at him.

"Erhmm! excuse me, don't your people pee?" growled Gargamel and he turned his back on Papa. It was a long pee and for some reason it was most embarrassing for both of them.

When he had finished he put the pitcher on the floor under the table. Would have been most unwise to put it back on the table.

"Don't know about you, but this is getting tedious I just have to do something, be somewhere!" remarked Gargamel and he seemed more jittery somehow. "I've got to keep moving, I just can't keep still and I have a need.. A need for company!" said the human and he was looking at Papa Smurf in a strange way which unsettled the blue creature.

"Are you OK, Gargamel? You seem a little tense?" replied the Smurf and he started to back away from the human who was approaching him with a strange look on his face. It was most peculiar as it almost looked like Gargamel was deeply in love with Papa!

"I have to be with you Papa, always! I just need to hold you tight and never let go, we'll be lovers forever!" simpered Gargamel holding his arms wide open and making a kissing face.

And Papa Smurf found this terrifying! He ran around the perimeter of the room but the human just kept coming. Not chasing as such but just tracking him from the centre of the room . After about ten minutes of this, Papa had to stop to take a breath and before he knew it Gargamel had pounced on him!

Papa was pushed down face first onto the floor and the weight of the human was keeping him pinned down.

Gargamel kept whispering sweet nothings in his ear and trying to nibble it. It was just too horrifying for words. How was he going to get out of this? As soon as that thought popped into his head he noticed a ladder in the corner of the room and an open trapdoor. It was an escape route!

Papa Smurf found new strength and managed to turn himself round to face the human. For a few seconds they looked at each other, one face was full of love and the other full of horror.

"Sorry Gargamel, but I have to go!" said Papa and he poked the human in the eye and gave him a Smurf chop on the side of the neck. The evil wizard collapsed on the spot and looked a sorry sight holding a hand over left eye and trying to rub the left side of his neck with his right hand. This gave time for Papa to jump up and make a dash for the ladder.

He started to climb out of the red room and once through the trapdoor he attempted to close it but it was locked open. Below him he could see Gargamel coming to the bottom of the ladder. He still had that look of absolute love on his face and Papa felt sure that if he ever got out of this prison alive, that he would never ever complain about Gargamel's evil face again.

No wonder the poor human had no partner, when he was feeling love, somehow his face looked scarier than when he was angry. Or maybe it was just because he had never seen such a look on the evil wizard.

He soon got snapped out of his thoughts as Gargamel was coming through the trapdoor.

But there was not even a proper room here just another ladder in the corner of a small three meters square box. The next ladder seemed to go on forever and to Papa it looked like the rest of this prison was a vertical maze of ladders.

"Oh, my Smurf! I really don't like the look of this!"

"Come to Gargy! I just want to love and cuddle you all day my Papa!" cooed Gargamel as he pulled himself up through the trapdoor.

Papa was already climbing the next ladder when he felt himself being pulled down. The Human had grabbed onto his foot and was pulling with all his might. Papa held on as best as he could, but his shoes and leggings had other ideas. They were going South with Gargamel.

Papa just hoped that he had remembered to put on some clean knickers.

To be continued..


	3. Chapter 3

Maze of Emotions

Chapter 3

Outside the prison maze sat a large man in an ornate chair. He wore purple robes and gold rings on his fingers. The very same fingers were now drumming on the arm of the chair. One hand turned itself into a fist and came down hard on the said arm and the chair gave a creak.

"I must find out what his secret is!" The man got up from the chair and paced up and down the room, his every move was being watched by a jet black raven sitting atop a perch next the fireplace, its beady eyes never leaving its master's form.

"Lets see how they deal with the next room then we'll start to get serious!" He then threw back his fat head and gave a deep terrifying laugh.

Back in the prison itself things were getting heated to say the least. Gargamel had managed to pull off Papa Smurf's pants and the elderly Smurf still had time to be a bit embarrassed by the hand stitched love hearts on his boxer shorts, they had been a present from Smurfette and now his deadly enemy could see them!

They were now quite high up the ladders and Papa and Gargamel had to change ladders every now and again and run along a small gantry to get to the next ladder. They must have climbed at least thirty different ladders by now and they were both becoming exhausted. Gargamel had kept Papa's pants and tied them around his waist he did not want to lose one piece of his beloved Papa.

Something was driving him to chase this blue person as if his life depended on it and although his whole body ached he could not stop himself from climbing.

As for Papa, as he climbed the elderly Smurf noted that he could not see anything above or below him for more than 50 meters, it was as if the ladders were on a loop and they were climbing on a treadmill of ladders!

"I really can't climb anymore!" gasped Papa, but his 'lover' was gaining on him. He feared that if he climbed anymore that he might Smurf himself a heart attack. But would that really be preferable to being snogged by Gargamel?

He carried on climbing and ran along yet another gantry when he noticed a door. He went to it and turned the handle. It opened into a very dark room. There was no light at all.

Gingerly Papa moved forward testing the floor to make sure there was one there and then he felt along the wall from his left and he made his way slowly around the room. It was pitch black in there and he could not even see his hands moving along the wall.

The only light came from the open doorway which now had Gargamel silhouetted in its frame.

"Papa where are you? Come to Gargy! I'll find you soon!" Papa looked away and then continued to feel along the wall. But by turning away he did not notice in which direction Gargamel had gone.

Gargamel was doing the same as Papa, feeling along the wall but he had gone right instead of left and in the dark they were making their way towards each other.

The evil wizard was not making a sound and the Smurf had no way of knowing where he was. Papa did not want to shout out anything for fear of giving away his position.

For a few minutes they both stood stock still trying to hear for each other but neither of them heard any footfalls or breathing.

Instead there was another sound, that sounded like hissing and scratching. This new sound seemed to become louder the more they listened then they both came to the same conclusion at the same time...SNAKES!

Now Gargamel liked to think of himself as brave but snakes freaked him out! Ever since he last went to collect some Blue clay to make a new Smurf he had a fear of the snakes that infested the clay beds and when the clay exploded he only just managed to get away in time before the snakes turned on him. This memory made him let out an involuntary whimper of fear.

Papa heard the evil wizard's cry and deduced that Gargamel was on the opposite side of the room. Papa carried on moving but this time back towards the open door. He was not keen on snakes either and getting out of this room would be a good idea.

Gargamel could hear the Smurf moving on the other side of the room and he could see Papa approaching the light coming through the doorway and just as he reached it even the tiny oasis of light was extinguished. The door had slammed shut!

They were both trapped with the snakes in the dark. Gargamel could stand it no more, the fear he was feeling helped clear his system of the love potion and now he just wanted someone to hold his hand.

"Papa, where are you? I think that love potion has worn off. But don't you think we'd better stick together for now?"

"I don't trust you as far as I could throw you Gargamel!" answered the Smurf angrily.

Papa was just about to say something else when the room was bathed in light and once their eyes got accustomed to the glare they saw that the middle of the room was indeed full of snakes, deadly ones at that. All manner of pit vipers, cobras and mambas.

But something was preventing them from moving towards them.

They were trapped in a large glass cage with a large clock on the side and in the centre of the writhing mass of snakes was a signpost with just one word that they had both been searching for... FREEDOM!

Now that they could see that they were not in immediate danger they moved towards each other still keeping their backs to the wall.

"Um, I believe you have something of mine," said Papa Smurf

"Do I? Oh, these? How did they get tied around my waist?" replied the puzzled wizard. He untied the Smurf's pants from around his own waist and handed them to Papa.

Gargamel allowed himself a little giggle at the sight of the boxer shorts which the embarrassed Smurf heard but even he smiled at the absurdity of it all.

"You don't remember do you? Maybe its a good thing then." chuckled Papa as he pulled his pants back on. It had been scary to be chased by a love sick enemy but now he could see the funny side.

"We must Smurf a way out of here but how?" muttered Papa to himself.

**POP**

Another parchment scroll appeared in thin air and landed at his feet. The Smurf leader bent over to pick it up and the opened it and read out the contents out loud so that the wizard could hear.

_This is your final test_

_Here you must reveal to each other_

_your deepest secret_

_Do not lie to each other _

_or you will suffer_

_You have one hour to spill the beans_

_If you decide not to comply then the snakes_

_will be set free and you _

_will have to survive them to gain _

_your freedom!_

"Well that's not very fair is it?" Shouted Gargamel to the ceiling and shaking his fists.

"I'm not telling anyone any secrets and you can't make me!" Continued the enraged wizard who was pacing up and down the room in a rage, his face had gone red and he punched the walls a few times for emphasis but he merely ended up hurting his hand but the pain was nothing compared to the rising panic that he was feeling.

He did have a big secret one that even his mother did not know about and he would forever be ashamed and saddened that she could never know.

Why did this Goblin King need to know any of this? Why should Papa know anything? And as he paced up and down he became infuriated that the Smurf was just sitting there watching him.

"Well Papa? Do you have a secret you want to share with me?" shouted Gargamel.

But he just shook his head. The human kept pacing and shouted up to the ceiling again

"See? We don't want to talk to each other and we won't! If we stay silent then even your truth serum won't work as we won't be able to lie to each other, so you've lost and I demand that you set us free!"

Gargamel had finished his manic walk and just felt tired. He sat down heavily against the opposite wall to Papa and in between them the box of snakes continued to wriggle and writhe and the clock continued to tick and tock. They only had another thirty minutes or so left and each of them was trying to work out a plan to escape from their prison without being bitten.

After another ten minutes of just staring at the snakes Papa was the first to speak up.

"Gargamel, we should work together to get out of this. It's our only hope."

"I'd rather die than tell you or anyone else my secrets. Too many lives are at stake," replied the wizard

Papa was quite taken aback. Gargamel was willing to die to save others. Had he misheard? He was starting to think that this evil wizard did have some good in him and was worthy of his help, but what did this human in front of him think of the Smurf? True Gargamel seemed to have a bit more respect for Papa now that he was human sized but if they ever got out of this alive and he was back to being three apples high, then his attitude would change wouldn't it?

"Gargamel can you promise me something?" asked Papa suddenly feeling that he had to trust the human.

"Depends what it is?" replied the wizard looking puzzled.

"If I don't make it, will you promise not to hurt my little Smurfs. Please promise me this."

Gargamel did not answer for a couple of minutes and seemed to be thinking about the elderly Smurf's request with great care. Finally he spoke and Papa was almost moved to tears when he heard his most hated enemy say.

"Papa Smurf, you're not the only father in this room so I understand now"

Suddenly a screeching noise filled the room and they both had to cover their ears to protect their eardrums. The snakes were not affected as they were deaf anyway. They both watched in horror as the walls of the glass cage disappeared into the floor and the snakes started to slither out, their muscular bodies undulating across the floor.

Papa and Gargamel were on their feet and moving away from the snakes and trying to find a way through the thinning mass of writhing bodies towards the trapdoor when without provocation a black mamba turned back on itself and struck at Papa Smurf's leg.

The Smurf shrieked out in pain and on his ankle two bloody pinpricks appeared. The snake retreated and joined the others. Gargamel had seen what had happened and he ran over to the stricken blue being who was now gasping for breath and looking very pale.

"Please..please don't hurt my little ones." Papa gasped and then he was gone. Gargamel cradled Papa in his arms and stroked the elderly Smurf's face and beard and replied to Papa even though he knew he could no longer hear him.

"I promise Papa. But to be honest it looks like I have no choice in the matter either."

And as the wizard looked up he saw the snakes moving back towards him. Even the trapdoor marked 'Freedom' was taunting him.

Was he ever free in the first place, his obsession with Gold and catching Smurfs? His lonely life away from the ones he loved? He then felt the hot pain of half a dozen snakes biting him at the same time.

As his vision started to blur and he lay down next to the dead Smurf, his last conscious thought was..."Gruntag and Snotfest you are losers!"

The purple clad fat man jumped up from his ornate chair and threw off a contraption that had been attached to his head. He held the sides of his temples with his fists and screamed and screamed and then stamped his feet in anger. Bending over to pick up the contraption again he took it in his hands and threw it out of the open castle window and a large dragon just outside swallowed it whole.

"Damn that man to hell! He is stronger than I thought. I'll find out your secret one day Gargamel mark my words. I'll find out where your children are hiding and then I'll kill them one by one slowly...Mwa,ha,ha,ha!"

In the Smurf village Papa woke up in bed covered in sweat. For a moment he wondered where he was and then he lay back on the bed with his hands over his eyes and sobbed with relief

"Oh my Smurf, it was just a nightmare, nothing more!" He jumped out of bed and had a quick wash after pouring water into the washbasin and he ran out into the village square and almost knocked Vanity over.

"Hey watch it Papa! You almost made me break my best mirror, I could have had seven years bad luck!" shouted Vanity.

"Oh, my little Smurfs! I love you all so much. I'll always be here for you to protect you all!" replied the exited Papa Smurf.

"Erm, Papa are you OK? You're a bit exited aren't you?"

"Just glad to be alive and with my wonderful family" beamed Papa and together he and Vanity made their way to the mess hall for breakfast.

The hovel was filled manic laughter, Gargamel had jumped out of bed ,grabbed Azrael and was dancing around the dingy room holding the terrified cat in his arms.

"Oh Azrael I'm so glad to be back home with you! It was all a terrible nightmare, none of it was real and best of all I don't have to keep my promise to the Smurfs.

Soon Azrael, soon we'll have enough gold to escape this place and make a new life for ourselves as a family.

**The End**

**Yes it was a bit of a cop-out to turn it into a dream but this story is linked to 'The Penultimate Solution' and Gargamel's family will be revealed in due time.**

**Thank you for reading. **


End file.
